Police: Missouri State professor took covert photos of men in locker rooms

An ex-Missouri State University professor has been accused of taking photos of men undressing in two locker rooms on campus

Police say Eduardo Acuna-Zumbado, 44, was seen on Jan. 10 taking photos of a victim "in various stages of undress" inside the men's locker room at Foster Recreation Center.

He was a professor at Missouri State until this week.

According to a probable cause statement, another person saw Acuna-Zumbado taking the photos and told the alleged victim.

Prosecutors say Acuna-Zumbado was discovered later that month in an Athletics Center locker room, where he was not supposed to be, "rummaging through a coach's locker."

A court document says the professor attempted to flee after he was confronted by two coaches.

When police arrived, Acuna-Zumbado consented to a search of his phone, which contained photos of a man partially undressed and appeared to be taken without the person's consent, prosecutors say. Police said it appeared to be a different man and different locker room than the Jan. 10 encounter.

When police later interviewed Acuna-Zumbado, he said he had taken the photos while he adjusted his camera phone, but later said he took the photos of the men "partially nude or fully nude" and that he did it "for the thrill of it." He said he deleted the photos as soon as he took them.

According to Penni Groves, general counsel at Missouri State University, Acuna-Zumbado was employed from Aug. 18, 2008 until March 3, 2014. She said she could not say whether Acuna-Zumbado left on his own.

Acuna-Zumbado's profile on the university's website says he was an assistant professor in the Spanish department.

It also says he obtained a doctoral degree in Latin American Literature from the University of Kansas in 2008. It says he also has master's degrees from the University of Kansas and University if Illinois. His bachelor's degree was obtained at Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica or National University of Costa Rica in 1991, the site says.

He's charged with second-degree invasion of privacy, a class A misdemeanor. The penalty for a class A misdemeanor is a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine of no more than $1,000.

He's free on a $2,500 bond, the conditions of which stipulate he not be on any Missouri State property.